Honoured and delighted to be appointed Chairperson of the board of Sing Ireland

The board of Sing Ireland has appointed Virginia Kerr as its new Chairperson.

Speaking on her appointment, Virginia said:

I am both honoured and delighted to be appointed Chairperson of the Board of Sing Ireland. Having spent my working life to date as an international soprano, vocal teacher and performance psychology lecturer, I am passionate about the art form and I look forward to being part of this vibrant organisation at this exciting time in its development. I am eager to build on the great work achieved by my predecessors and the excellent executive team so that we can support and encourage people across the island of Ireland to embrace the benefits and joys of singing.

Sing Ireland also acknowledges with gratitude, the significant contribution to Sing Ireland and the group singing community that Alan Kelly, Virginia’s predecessor as Chairperson has made.

Dermot O’Callaghan, CEO of Sing Ireland commented:

We are delighted to welcome Virginia Kerr to Sing Ireland at this exciting time in the organisation’s development. Virginia is one of Ireland’s best-known and celebrated sopranos and she has extensive board experience. She brings a broad skill set from her considerable performance and teaching experience to her work in psychotherapy and performance anxiety. We look forward to working with Virginia to realise the organisation’s ambitious strategic growth plans in the coming years.

A constant on the international stage, Virginia Kerr’s career includes celebrated performances on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls and has taken her as far afield as Russia, Asia, Mexico and North and South America.

Alongside a busy international performing career, Virginia Kerr is Professor of Voice at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and is on the vocal faculty of the National University of Ireland Maynooth. She takes a very holistic approach to her teaching of singing and incorporates her training in psychology and body work into her vocal tuition. Virginia has given master classes in the United States of America, Mexico, Georgia, The Far East, France and the United Kingdom and is in great demand to work with choirs throughout the country with a view to improving vocal technique.

She is a regular adjudicator at feiseanna and singing competitions both at home and abroad and really enjoys this work as she finds it a great opportunity to hear up and coming young talent. Virginia is a regular broadcaster on RTE radio and television and has been a guest presenter for Lyric FM on several occasions.

A keen interest in the workings of the psyche of musicians and performers led Virginia to pursue a Master of Science degree in psychotherapy with an emphasis on Musical Performance Anxiety. Virginia specialises in working with performers who suffer with performance anxiety and she incorporates this work into her performance psychology lecture series at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in addition to working privately at her private psychotherapy practice in Dublin.

A former chairperson of Opera Theatre Company, Ireland’s precursor to Irish National Opera, Virginia is a founder and joint artistic director of the Festival de Musique de Leran, a summer music festival held in the charming village of Leran in the French Pyrenees.

Details of the other Directors on the Sing Ireland board can be found HERE.